Backcourt comes together for Wolfpack

Tuesday

Nov 21, 2017 at 11:33 PM

By David KehrliTimes-News

RALEIGH — Long before Dennis Smith Jr. was drafted ninth overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, questions of how the North Carolina State men’s basketball program would replace his talent and production under first-year coach Kevin Keatts were rampant.

The Wolfpack (4-0) has taken a guard-by-committee approach up to this point, featuring Torin Dorn, Allerik Freeman and Markell Johnson, among others.

Dorn is N.C. State’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 18.5 points and seven boards a game.

"I definitely always look to offensive rebound and stay active on the glass," Dorn said. "That’s just something that I feel like I can do. Just knowing where the ball can come off (the rim) and knowing my teammates. That can help us get us the extra possessions and help us to score points."

Freeman, a graduate transfer from Baylor, brings leadership, along with his 15.5 points a game, to a team featuring many new pieces, including himself.

"We all try to play aggressive," Freeman said. "We all try to get downhill and take the shot. We just play, we don’t try to do too much thinking. We just hoop."

Johnson is putting up 11.5 points and distributing the ball at a high level, putting up nine assists per game. He's also active on the defensive end, coming up with 12 steals across the Wolfpack’s first four games.

"(We) just play the passing lanes well," Johnson said. "Getting deflections, and deflections lead to steals."

Johnson’s highlight-reel dunk Thursday night in the Wolfpack’s 86-68 victory against Presbyterian was reminiscent of the many dunks Smith wooed the PNC Arena crowd with in his one season with the Wolfpack.

When asked if it was as good as the dunks Smith produced in his season at N.C. State, Johnson responded: "No. Dennis has got some crazy dunks. You can’t gas that up."

There is a noticeable difference on the defensive end of the court, led by the guards, this season.

"The way we play, we want to speed the game up," Freeman said. "We want to create deflections, get stops, get steals and get out in transition."

The trio will need to elevate to a new level tonight against No. 2 Arizona. Wildcats junior guard Allonzo Trier is averaging 30 points a game.

"(We’re focused on) just coming in with the right mindset," Johnson said of the Arizona game. "Coming in knowing that we’re going to have to lock in defensively all the way, from the start of the game to the end of the game."